Crossroads
by mydeadlylover
Summary: An AtobexOC fanfic. Atobe gets engaged with a girl he just met. How are they going to cope with the engagement? Characters may be OOC and story may be slightly crack.
1. Unfortunate Engagement

MYDEADYLYLOVER: Hi, everyone! This is my first try at a PoT fanfic so, please be gentle with your comments. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks to my friend eijicute for proofreading this for me, I love you!

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis. If I do, then it would be one big yaoi series, the fans would be crying by the end of it.

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----Chapter 1----

----Unfortunate Engagement----

* * *

"Buchou!" The redheaded acrobatics player almost shouted at Atobe Keigo's ear. His attention was definitely not on his companions as he continued to seemingly gaze into the open space of the school grounds.

Atobe's eyes were busy staring at a girl running at full speed across the grounds as the school bells started to ring. He smirked a little as he saw the girl run as if there's no tomorrow.

"Atobe, Gakuto's talking to you," Oshtari Yuushi's voice awakened Atobe from his silly little musings and he perked his head up and looked at Mukahi Gakuto, the tennis team's acrobatics player. Such things can never surprise Hyoutei's King, or at least that's what he's trying to show.

"What is it that you wanted to tell Ore-sama?" Atobe asked.

"Uhm…you left one of your phones back at the locker room, I just thought I'd return it to you before the bell rings," Mukahi said holding out a shiny black slide-up phone for Atobe to see. Atobe took it from Mukahi's hand and slipped it inside his bag.

"Ore-sama thanks you. You may now go," Atobe waved a dismissing hand and Mukahi took it as his cue to leave the classroom.

"You seem kinda out of it, Atobe," Oshitari commented after Mukahi had left.

"It's none of your business, Oshitari," Atobe glared at Oshitari before the sensei arrived and signaled for the class to start.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sendoh Aoi wiped the sweat from her brow as she arrived at her classroom to find it sensei-free. She sighed in relief and greeted her classmates before settling down on her own desk.

"Mou, Aoi-chan, you're late again!" A petite girl with shoulder-length hair placed her hands on her hips as she eyed Aoi sternly.

"Ahh~ gomen, Kana-chan, on my way here I saw a pregnant woman and she was about to give birth and so I decided to take her to the nearby clinic but unfortunately, the clinic did not admit her so I had to take her –" Aoi's story was cut off by her friend.

"Hai, hai, and so you have to take her to the university hospital and wait until she gives birth? Mou, Aoi-chan, can't you think of something believable other than those lame excuses? I've heard that excuse more than once before! You're lucky sensei's on leave today," Kana sighed, looking at her friend.

"Eh? So he's really not here? Lucky ~" Aoi made a peace sign to Kana and the latter only smacked her forehead in disbelief. Really, her friend's tardiness cannot be cured.

* * *

It was the tennis club's afternoon practice and Atobe sat on the bleachers observing the doubles team of Oshitari and Mukahi, noting how their play style has improved since the last match. Kabaji, as usual sat by his side, staring at the match with an impassive face. The Buchou of the tennis club drank some water from the bottle by his side when a girl's voice caught his attention.

"Nii-sama!" The voice called and Atobe averted his eyes to a girl running down the bleachers towards their general direction. She was the girl he saw that morning running at the school grounds, already late for her lessons. Atobe smirked to himself, noticing how her long black hair bounced in its ponytail as she descended the steps and how her legs lifted themselves with each step she takes. She sure runs around a lot, eh?

"Nii-sama!" she called once again, reaching the place where Atobe and Kabaji were seated. Atobe followed her with his gaze noticing the features of her face. Her prominent chin, those beautifully arched eyebrows, the sharp nose and her well-defined cheekbones and jaw line. She was a true beauty, the way she carries herself in a careless manner yet still managing to show some grace. He was about to greet her but he was put out when she sat beside Kabaji. "Nii-sama, father told me to invite you. They're going to hold a party at home for God-knows-what and they told me that you should come, nii-sama, it's ok, right? Tomorrow's the weekend after all," The girl chattered off and, apparently, Kabaji had understood what she said.

"Usu," the burly second year said and nodded.

"Ah, that's great! Don't forget to tell your parents, okay, nii-sama? Jaa~ I'll be going then, see you tonight!" And the girl picked up her bag, running up the bleachers. There she was, again, running around, Atobe thought.

"Ne, Kabaji, who was that girl just now?" Atobe asked the second year sans tennis team captain's eternal man slave.

"Sendoh Aoi, Second year class A," Kabaji said in a monotone voice.

"What's your relationship to her?" Atobe pressed on.

"Cousins," Kabaji grunted.

"You're both second years. Why does she call you 'nii-sama'?" Hyoutei's King asked once more.

"I'm older by three months," came Kabaji's reply.

"Ah~n" Atobe said, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. Hyoutei's King had found his Cinderella.

* * *

Aoi felt that something was not quite right the way that her mother had hired a stylist, a makeup artist and a hairdresser to prepare her for the party that was going to be held at their house that night. A few well-trusted maids would have done the job but Aoi's mother felt that it was improper and proceeded to introduce her to Japan's best fashion soldiers who are well trained (and not to mention well-priced) to do the job of prepping her up for the occasion.

"Ne, okaa-sama, why do I have to go through such fuss? The maids would have done well enough," Aoi asked her mother, cringing a bit as her hair made contact with the hot curling iron. They would surely have split ends soon, Aoi thought miserably.

"That won't do, Aoi-chan. Tonight I would like you to meet someone important so I would like you to look beautiful for that person. So that you would make a good first impression," Aoi's mother smiled at her. Aoi sighed knowing that her mother had defeated her again. She can't win against her no matter how hard she tries. Sendoh-mama always finds a way to get what she wanted.

"Just who is this person, anyway?" Aoi asked, studying her face in the mirror. These guys are quite good, eh? So far, she looks normal – even prettier than normal, actually.

"You'll see. I don't wanna spoil it for you," Aoi's mother winked and with that, she excused herself from the room. Aoi sighed again, letting the fashion soldiers do their job on her.

* * *

"Keigo-bochama, master wishes to see you in his study immediately," a maid told Atobe after he had arrived home. Keigo sighed, and handed his school bag to the said maid and proceeded up the flight of stairs of their large mansion and went straight to his father's study.

"Otou-sama, it's me," Keigo said, tapping at the door of his father's study.

"Ah, enter," came the answer from inside the room. Keigo then opened the door and excused himself inside the large study.

"You wish to see me, otou-sama?" Keigo inquired.

"Ah, yes, I have something to tell you," Atobe-senior said, turning to his son who just stood there by the doorway.

"And what is it that you wanted to tell me, otou-sama?" Keigo asked.

"Get dressed," Atobe-senior said.

"Eh?" Keigo had a confused look on his face.

"We're attending a party tonight and your presence is very much required, so get dressed in formal wear right now," Atobe-senior elaborated.

"But, otou-sama, why is ore-sama needed in that party?" Keigo pressed on. He was not in the mood for parties right now.

"I'd like you to meet someone very important. Don't run away or I'll disown you," Atobe-senior said and was satisfied to see his son's eyebrow twitch. No matter how much Keigo may want to disobey his father's orders, he had always been forced to oblige with the threat of disownment. He's still quite a child, Atobe-senior thought.

"Hai, wakarimashta," Atobe said and with that, he turned and left the study without another word.

* * *

Aoi stared at the crowd with distaste. They were a lot older than she was and she does not know anyone in that crowd. And it was certainly making her imagination run wild. Maybe she was to meet an old geezer who wants to set her up with his equally ugly son and her parents would gladly agree. The possibilities were endless and Aoi had to control herself so that her imagination would stop thinking of the worst scenarios possible. _Why is Munehiro-nii-sama not here yet?_ Aoi asked herself as she weaved through the crowd of people and headed towards the veranda. She needs some cooling-off because the crowd just seems to get thicker by the minute. Reaching her sanctuary, Aoi let out a grateful sigh but was startled when she heard shifting movements from the unlit side of the veranda. She called out.

"Is someone there?" she asked uncertainly.

"Ah, sorry, did I startle you?" The man on the other side asked. Atobe Keigo raised his head to see the one who's been invading his thoughts since this morning. Sendoh Aoi was there, standing in a black gothic-inspired dress and seemed to glow from the faint light coming from the ballroom.

"Ah, no, It's me who should be saying sorry, you know, coming out here and disturbing your peaceful silence," Aoi replied, bowing her pretty head.

"It's quite alright, it's crowded, anyway," Atobe said nodding to the direction of the ballroom, even though he knows that Aoi cannot really see him. "I know some get sick of it and needs a breather once in a while," he continued. Suddenly, a cellphone rang.

"Excuse me," Aoi said as she answered her phone. Not long after that, Atobe's own phone started to ring.

"Why are you calling ore-sama?" Atobe said as he answered the phone.

"Keigo! Where have you gone to?" his father's voice came from the other end. Atobe held the phone a few inches from his ears.

"Ore-sama was just having some fresh air," he answered.

"Well, break time's over! Get your miserable ass over here or I'll disown you!" came his father's reply. Atobe cringed at the word.

"Hai, hai, otou-sama. Keep it down, will you. There's probably some people in Britain who did not manage to hear your voice," Atobe answered sarcastically and before his father could even think of a response, he disconnected from the call. _That man can't act his age sometimes, _Atobe thought before leaving the peaceful veranda and stepping into the crowded ballroom, weaving through the people, greeting back to those who knew him and headed towards the direction of the grand staircase where he saw his parents standing with two other people and his Aoi.

* * *

"Where have you gone to, Aoi-chan?" came the worried voice of Aoi's mother came from the other line.

"Ah~ I just went to have some fresh air," Aoi replied, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Oh, I thought you've gone somewhere else. Well, meet us in the grand staircase, ok, sweetie," and with that, Aoi's mother cut the call short. Aoi sighed. She did not even enjoy her short break. Stepping out of the veranda, she weaved through the crowd that seemed to have increased once again over the time she had spent on the veranda. Really, how many people does her parents know to have this much visitor on a party for God-knows-what-it-is-this-time? She headed for the grand staircase where her parents stood with two other people, one male and the other female.

* * *

"Aoi-chan, I'm sorry for making you wait, my Keigo doen't really know his manners," The female Atobe bowed in apology to Aoi.

"Ah~ please raise your head, Atobe-san, I did not wait for too long, after all," Aoi sai, feeling uneasy, the way that the Atobe's were treating her. She only met them that night yet they already treat her as if she was an important person. What was all of this about, anyway? Just before the female Atobe could apologize to Aoi for the fifth time that night, Aoi saw a young man in palest lavender long-sleeved polo shirt with its sleeves rolled up and held with a silver cuff. _Incredibly hot_ was the first thing that came to Aoi's mind when she saw this perfect creature ascend the stairs towards their direction. The handsome face with those beautifully shaped eyebrows that would rival hers, and that _charm point_ that draws all eyes to his face. Even that little mole was perfect in its own way. And his hair, how can she just ignore that hair that seems to glow under the light of the crystal chandeliers that hangs from the ceiling.

"Ah, finally! He's here!" Atobe-mama's voice made Aoi stop from her staring. The female Atobe held the young man's forearm and almost dragged him to where Aoi and her parents were. "Aoi-chan, Sendoh-san, this is our son, Keigo," Atobe mama introduced the young man and the young man, bowed gracefully to them. Aoi was starting to think that when describing this man, you couldn't refrain from using such poetic terms.

"Pleased to meet you, Aoi-san, Sendoh-san," Keigo bowed and kissed the hand of Aoi's mother, making the older woman smile in a pleased way. Keigo then inclined his head to Aoi and bowed lightly, Aoi responding with a slight bow too.

"And this is my daughter, Aoi," Aoi's mother introduced them, which prompted another exchange of respectful bows. After the pleasantries of introduction, Sendoh-mama motioned for their family's butler who immediately scurried to his master. Sendoh-mama whispered a few words to him and the butler just nodded to show that he understood. The next moment, he was gone, as suddenly as he had appeared. Suddenly, the lights of the ballroom dimmed and spotlights pointed towards the direction where they were currently located. Aoi could not suppress the slight shock that showed in her face. Whoever knew that they hired lighting crew for that night?

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?" Sendoh-mama called out to the crowed and immediately, all eyes were focused on them, or at least that's what Aoi thinks because she can barely see through the brightness of the spotlights.

"We are all gathered here to celebrate a big event for our family and also for the Atobe family," Sendoh-mama waved a graceful hand towards the direction of the Atobes who beamed at the audience. Aoi couldn't figure out what was so great that it would need such a huge celebration and apparently, the youngest Atobe showed the same confusion as hers through the slight furrowing of his brows.

"This has already been decided a few years before now. And today, we are pleased to inform you that the Atobe family and the Sendoh family will be joined – " both of the youngest members of the families could not quite decipher what the elders were talking about and the confusion was eminent of both Aoi and Keigo's faces. "- through the engagement of our children, Aoi and Keigo," Keigo's father finished and he waved a hand towards the direction of Aoi and Keigo, who both had awestruck looks on their faces, still trying to absorb the information from what Keigo's father had said. After that statement, the crowd broke into tumultuous applause, almost deafening if the two would just regain their presence of mind.

"I'm … engaged?" Aoi breathed out after running over the statement several times in her head, trying to find other meanings for it, yet failing miserably. Her eyes had finally regained its focus and she looked down to the crowd below them. They were all clapping hard. It's so loud, so deafening. Aoi clapped both hands over her ears and shouted, "YADDA!!!" before running away up the grand staircase, leaving the audience in awkward silence. It's not the usual response you would expect from a girl on her engagement party. Then again, she never really knew that she was engaged until five seconds ago.

* * *

Aoi ran down the hallways of the Sendoh mansion, trying to suppress the tears that were starting to fall down her cheeks. That was just too much of a blow to her ego and her emotions. She felt as if the whole world had conspired against her. Yes, that Atobe guy was hot beyond what words could describe but Aoi felt that being set up with a guy she knew for just a few seconds was a great idea for the start of a romance. No, Aoi wanted to be free and use her decision on that area. Aoi wants to meet a guy, fall in love and eventually get engaged in a normal way. Not what happened today where she met the guy and got engaged, skipping the 'falling in love' part.

Aoi did not bother to quiet down as she slammed the door of her room. She kicked off her shoes and fell face-forward into her large flowery pink bed. Punching her fluffy pillow, she raged internally at how she was overpowered by her parents. This was the first time they ever asked her to do anything for them but to marry someone who she does not actually know until about a few seconds before the engagement was totally out of hand.

"Aoi-chan? Aoi-chan?" A knock on Aoi's door. The party must be over by now. "Aoi-chan? Can I come in?" it was Aoi's mother who has been persistently knocking on her door. Aoi sat up and tried to fix her appearance as much as she can.

"Enter," she said when she deemed herself presentable once again. Aoi's mother opened the door carefully and entered the room, noting how Aoi's beloved Gucci shoes were thrown carelessly on the floor. Her daughter must be really mad to disregard one of her favorite things just like that.

"Aoi-chan, can we talk?" Sendoh-mama said and sat down carefully at the edge of her daughter's bed. Aoi glared at her for a while.

"What else is there to talk about? It's clear that I have no more right in this household," Aoi said in a quiet voice with so much contempt in every syllable of her statement. Sendoh-mama was taken aback. Her daughter usually does not talk back. This was the first time that Aoi did and it only means danger.

"Look, Aoi, I know you're totally against this but I know Keigo-kun is a great guy. He'll be able to make you happy," Sendoh-mama tried to reason out though she knows she would fail.

"Happy?" Aoi said with a dry laugh. "You don't even know the guy that much! How could you say that he'll be able to make me happy?" She said, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You got me there," Sendoh-mama sighed. "But why don't we compromise?" She asked, proposing an idea her brain had just hatched.

"Compromise?" Aoi asked a little puzzled yet the anger still did not waver in her features.

"Since you're both still in middle school, you still have about five years before both of you can actually marry," Sendoh-mama said.

"Go on," Aoi said, interested in her mother's proposal.

"Say, if after those five years and you did not fall in love with Keigo, we can always cancel the engagement and you can go on your own merry way," Sendoh-mama finished.

"That seems negotiable," Aoi slowly said a few minutes of pondering later.

"It's settled then," Sendoh-mama said, a little relieved once her daughter had fully accepted her proposal.

"Just keep your end of the promise, okaa-sama or I swear, I'll run away from home," Aoi eyed her mother threateningly.

"Hai, hai, wakarimashta," Sendoh-mama said and closed the door behind her.

* * *

"So, Atobe, I've heard you've got a fiancée now," Yuushi said, adjusting his glasses. It was the Monday after the party and the two together with Gakuto were sitting at the school cafeteria, something that was uncommon for the tennis team's captain. Atobe ignored the fawning stares of his fangirls and continued to eat his lunch.

"Anyway, who's the lucky girl?" the tensai asked his buchou as he continued to eat.

"Her," Atobe said pointing the girl sitting at the table behind them. Yuushi and Gakuto spun around to stare at the girl behind them.

"Matsumoto Kanaria?" Gakuto asked, eyeing Aoi's best friend with keen eyes.

"No, not her, Gakuto no baka! Her!" Atobe hissed, jabbing his chopsticks toward Aoi's direction.

"Sendoh Aoi?" Yuushi and Gakuto asked in unison.

"Shh! Quiet!" Atobe hissed once again at his teammates.

"Aoi, Atobe-sempai seems to be staring at you a lot today," Kana-chan commented at her best friend. "Do you know each other?" she inquired.

"Yes, we know each other very well," Aoi grunted through a mouthful of food.

"Really? Is it because of Kabaji-san?" Kana-chan asked interested.

"No, he's my fiancée," Aoi answered indifferently.

"NANI!!!!!"


	2. First Gift

MYDEADLYLOVER: I can't contact my beta so this one is unbeta'd by anyone...please forgive me for irregularities.

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis. If I did, it would be a big yaoi series, the fans would be crying by the end of it.

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----Chapter 2----

----First Gift----

* * *

Riiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggggggg…

Aoi pulled the sheets over her head as her phone rang and vibrated on her bedside table. The ringing had stopped and Aoi snuggled closer to her pillows, finally finding peace. But the phone would not leave her in peace for so long. A few seconds passed and the phone started ringing again, Hare Hare Yukai blaring from the phone's tiny speakers. Defeated, Aoi got up from her bed, not bothering to look at her face, bed head and all, in the mirror. Aoi flipped open her old yet trusty cell phone and answered.

"Yo, do you know you just interrupted the most important part of my daily routine?" Aoi said sarcastically, veins popping out of her forehead.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, princess," a husky, masculine voice answered on the other line.

"Who in the frick could you be?" Aoi said, a little startled yet her tone still annoyed. No male would be calling her out of fear from her father who was known for his kendo abilities during his youth and not to mention the scary look he would give to anyone who ever tried to even talk to her in his presence. That was why no one ever dared approach her during social functions. Well, except for one whom, to her surprise, her father has forced into her together with her mother.

"My, my, how can you forget me?" The voice asked, his breath distorting his speech. Aoi had a funny thought that the guy on the other line was having an asthma attack.

"Listen, I don't want to play games. You only have ten seconds to tell me who you are or I'll hang up," Aoi threatened getting more annoyed by the second.

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I see," Aoi could hear the man chuckle from the other side, which made her more annoyed with him. "Fine, I'm Keigo, remember me now?" the man said.

"Keigo?" Aoi asked puzzled. She's heard that name before, she just can't remember where.

"Tch. Atobe Keigo, your gorgeously stunning, good looking, handsome fiancée," Keigo replied a little annoyed. How could she forget?

"Oh," was Aoi's only reply before she hung up without warning. She placed her phone on her bedside table with only one thought in mind: no matter how much sentimental value that phone may hold, it's time to get a new one since her so-called fiancée had already discovered her phone number.

* * *

"Unspeakable! How could she hang up on ore-sama just like that?" Atobe raged as his shiny limousine halted to a stop in front of Hyoutei Gakuen and his driver opened the door for him. Atobe stepped out and the driver closed the door after him and held his hand out to accept Atobe's bag as the tennis player did a last minute check-up of his uniform for any dust or creases before he went for the tennis team's early morning practice.

Atobe stepped through the school gates and was almost instantly welcomed by his man slave and the cousin of the woman who has been bothering his thoughts since he woke up that morning, Kabaji Munehiro. The tall and burly second year stepped up in front of Atobe and Hyoutei's King instantly held out his bag for the younger man to carry. The younger man took his bag and they both headed towards the school's tennis courts.

* * *

"Oof!" Aoi found herself pinned against the wall with Atobe Keigo's face inches from her face. It was too close for comfort but the young man did not seem to mind the proximity and seemed to enjoy himself.

"Why did you hang up on me?" Atobe asked in the same voice he used in his phone conversation earlier with Aoi. The girl averted her eyes not wanting to meet his gaze.

"I – I was going to be late," she muttered. _Oh, great, you've run out of excuses, princess, _Aoi thought.

"I always see you running around the grounds every morning just before the bell rings. I don't think that being late is such a big problem for you, my princess," Atobe said, pinning Aoi with his gaze.

"J – just let me go!" Aoi pushed Atobe away from her with all her strength and scurried off to her classroom just as the bell started to ring, signaling the start of the morning classes.

Just as Aoi had dashed away from his presence, Atobe's phone had started ringing. Picking it up, he realized that it was a call from one of his trusted people in Hyoutei. "Hai, Yuushi. What is it?" Atobe said to the man on the other line.

* * *

Nikkaido-sensei is out again, so you can stop running right now ^_^

This was the mail that Aoi found on her phone as soon as she reached her classroom. That was bad timing, in Aoi's opinion for she had already reached her classroom before she received the mail. Aoi wiped the sweat off her forehead before taking a deep breath in preparation of Kana-chan's lecture.

"Mou, Aoi-chan, you're late again," There it is. Aoi invented madly for her alibi.

* * *

"Aoi-chan!!!" came the jolly sound of Akutagawa Jirou as he bounded happily towards Aoi's table at the school cafeteria where the girl was setting the food she had prepared for both of them. They had agreed to eat lunch together today.

"Akutagawa-sempai!" Aoi acknowledged the boy as he sat next to her, already looking at the bentos spread out before him, not even noticing the slight blush creeping up Aoi's face as she looked at the boy meekly.

"Whoa! You made these, Aoi-chan?" The boy asked wide-eyed at Aoi who simply nodded. "They look great but I pity them 'cause they won't last long now. Itadakimasu!" and with that, Jirou began eating the food that Aoi had prepared herself.

* * *

Atobe together with Yuushi and Gakuto entered the cafeteria, deciding that the great King of Hyoutei should grace the cafeteria with his awesomeness once in a while. Upon entering, Yuushi stopped to a halt and smirked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Why'd you stop, Yuushi?" Gakuto asked as he almost bumped into the tensai.

"Interesting," Yuushi said more to himself as he gazed upon the table where Aoi sat blushing madly with Jirou who doesn't have a single care in the world except to clean out all the food in Aoi's bento. Gakuto looked at the direction where Yuushi was staring and was surprised by what he saw and he quickly tugged at his captain's sleeve.

"Buchou! You've got to see this!" Gakuto said, tugging madly at Atobe's sleeve, the man could've sworn that his arm will fall off if it continued any longer. Slapping Gakuto's persistent hand from his sleeve, he looked at the direction where the acrobatic player was pointing. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the usually sleeping boy wolfing down food beside _his _Aoi. He covered the distance between the place where they were standing and the table where the couple was sitting in an instant, his height towering above the two innocent people.

"JIROU!" Atobe boomed causing Jirou to drop his chopsticks in surprise. The boy looked up to see his captain towering above him with a look in his eyes that was so dangerous he could almost see a red flash of light coming from them.

" H-hai, buchou?" The boy asked meekly, wanting himself to disappear under the table in fright.

"Fifty laps," Atobe ordered.

"B – but, it's not yet practice time," Jirou tried to protest.

"Sixty laps," Atobe said in the same commanding voice.

"But it's still lunch time," Jirou tried to reason out.

"Continue talking and it will be a hundred laps," Atobe said with murder in his voice.

"H – hai!" Jirou said, jumping off his seat and dashing out of the cafeteria as fast as he could, waving a quick goodbye to Aoi accompanied by a short thanks.

"Ah ~ n what do we have here," Atobe said, his voice changing back to the breathy one he uses when speaking with Aoi, setting himself on the chair that Jirou had just vacated, Yuushi and Gakuto sitting on the opposite chairs facing them.

"That wasn't a very nice thing to do," Aoi said, pulling her chair away from Atobe's as much as she could.

"Hmn, not bad," Atobe said, not paying attention to what the girl had said and sampling the food that Jirou was eating a while ago.

"I'm full. I'm going back to the classroom, excuse me," Aoi said rising from her chair and preparing to leave.

"But what about the bento?" Gakuto asked, eyeing the food hopefully.

"You can have it, don't worry about returning the container. You can just throw it away. Jaa~ I'll be leaving then," Aoi said and with that, she left the cafeteria.

"Arigatou, Aoi-chan!" Gakuto said, waving her goodbye and after she disappeared behind the corner, he started eating the food that she had left.

"Hands off, Gakuto or you'll be running laps too," Atobe said, hitting, Gakuto's hand with his chopsticks. The redhead quickly obeyed, not wanting to get on the bad side of his buchou.

"They seem very close, though," Gakuto mused now that he can't be busy with eating Aoi's bento.

"According to my information, they have been living in the same neighborhood since they were young," Yuushi said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, so you mean they're childhood friends?" Gakuto asked.

"Yes, and that's why they are so close to each other," Yuushi added.

"So how do you spell her name?" Gakuto asked after a few moments.

"You did not just ask that," Yuushi said with a what-the-hell-is-in-your-mind look on his face.

* * *

Dismissal time. Aoi waved goodbye to her friends and walked to where she left her bike that morning. Yes, no matter how rich she was, Aoi always wanted to keep things as normal as possible for her. She doesn't want anything special because she believes that anything that is beyond normal – like overly luxurious cars and more than one phone – distances her from the friends that she had made. However, upon arriving at the spot, she found out that her bike was missing. Looking around, she spotted her cousin standing by a tree a few meters away from her.

"Munehiro-nii-sama, did see where my bike is?" Aoi asked her cousin as the large boy walked closer to her.

"Usu," was the boy's answer before Aoi was lifted off the ground and swung over the large boy's shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Hey! Where are you taking me, nii-sama? Put me down!" Aoi said desperately, beating the boys back with her fists. However, she gained neither an answer nor a reaction from the boy as she was carried of to a place that she doesn't know of.

* * *

Aoi's feet met the ground as she was finally set down be her cousin. She staggered slightly but was caught by Kabaji and he sat her down on the bleachers. Taking a look around, Aoi realized that she has been brought to the school tennis courts. She doesn't like how things are turning out to be.

"Ah ~ n you're finally here," Atobe Keigo approached her, slightly sweating and a smirk plastered on his arrogant face.

"Y – you ordered this!" Aoi spluttered, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Easy now, I did ask Kabaji to bring you here," Atobe said, lowering her arm and sitting beside her. Aoi immediately distanced herself from the narcissist.

"You're using my cousin as a man slave?" Aoi asked incredulously.

"Not quite, princess, he just respects me that's why he obeys me," Atobe answered, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Just the same, you use that respect to your advantage," Aoi said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I would be lying if I denied that," Atobe replied, drinking from his bottle and gazing at his teammates practicing, the smirk still plastered on his face.

"I would assume then that you know where my bike is," Aoi asked after a few moments of silence.

"Of course," Atobe answered, his gaze not leaving the tennis courts as he shouted an order for somebody to wake Jirou up.

"Which is?" Aoi asked tentatively. What could that man have done to her precious bike?

"I asked my men to throw that hideous thing away," Atobe replied, looking at her again with that annoying smirk on.

"W – what?! Y – you threw it away?!" Aoi shouted at Atobe. It was uncommon for her to lose her composure but this man throwing away her means of transportation was out of hand.

"It does not suit you to use things that was made for commoners," Atobe replied simply.

"C – commoner?! There is no such thing as commoners and rich people! Its just people with an ego as big as the Milky Way like you who classify people as such! And what are you going to do about my bike, ah ~ n?" Aoi finished her sentence in a tone very much like Atobe, her hands on her hips, and a dangerous look in her eyes. Atobe's smirk widened at this.

"Of course, I shall compensate for what I have done. From this day on, you will be fetched and brought to school and vice versa by me in my limousine. That solves everything, right?" Atobe said with a smile of satisfaction.

"So this was what you were planning from the very beginning?" Aoi asked backing away from the tennis captain.

"Not quite, princess. It's not according to my plan that the garbage collector would carry your bike away this afternoon. I had originally planned to return it to you but, well, we have to adjust on our plans once in a while," Atobe smiled even wider.

"What the – my bike is gone? How am I going home now? It's too far to walk and too near for a bus ride. The taxi fare is too expensive nowadays and I don't want to bother Kenichi-san to come over here and fetch me. I can't hitchhike with nii-sama since our houses are on completely opposite directions and I should not bother him over small things like that – oof!" Aoi's mumbling was cut when she felt a hand on top of her head.

"You worry too much, you still have a choice left you know," Atobe said staring straight to her eyes.

"I – I do?" she asked wondering what the choice could be.

"I'll take you home. And that's absolutely not a bother to me. You're my fiancée, remember? So just stay put there and wait until I finish practice," And with that, Atobe waved a hand gracefully and descended the bleachers shouting for someone to wake Jirou up who had once again fallen asleep.

Aoi sat in silence in the bleachers having a mental battle with herself. Why was she accepting Atobe's offer that easily? But then again, she didn't really hate him. It's just because he was some guy her parents wanted her to marry that's why she disliked him. But she had an agreement with her mother that if she did not fall in love with him before they graduate from high school, then the engagement would be called off. She needs to keep her end of that agreement. She had promised to herself that she wouldn't fall for this arrogant bastard no matter how incredibly handsome and hot – STOP! – She couldn't be thinking of those things. Not when she had a resolve not to fall in love with the person. Positive insights are a no-no or else she'd be falling in love with that guy. _That's not what we want now, do we, princess? _Inner Aoi sneered. _You like Akutagawa-sempai, don't you? It's so wrong to throw him away just like that. _Inner Aoi pressed on. Sometimes, when she talks to herself this much, Aoi truly considers a trip to the psychologist to get herself checked up for schizophrenia.

"Oi, Sendoh!" A tennis racket hit her lightly in the head as Aoi's mental battle ended with a draw. The girl looked up and saw Atobe now dressed in his school uniform and the scent of soap lingering on him. He just came out of the showers, the girl concluded.

"Have you called your parents yet about me taking you home? It's getting late already especially for someone like you who doesn't have club activities," Atobe asked staring into nothingness yet there was a hint of concern on his statement. Aoi jumped from her seat.

"Oh my! I totally forgot about that! They are so going to get mad at me!" Aoi said, frantically searching her bag for her beat-up phone. She finally found it and flipped it open.

"Oh, shoot! The battery's run out! I knew I should've bought a new battery the last time I went shopping but, yeah, now I'll just have to face the worse," the girl said turning to face Atobe but her nose almost collided with a shiny black phone, something that looks like one of the ones Atobe was using.

"Use this and call home. I don't want your parents to be worrying about you," Atobe said as he brandished the phone in front of Aoi. The girl accepted the phone and dialed her home number immediately. After ending the call, Aoi handed the phone back to Atobe but the gadget was pushed back into the girl's hands.

"That's yours already," Atobe shrugged and began pulling her to the direction of his limousine none too gently.

"Wh – what? I can't accept this! This probably cost a fortune!" The girl said while brandishing the phone in front of Atobe and trying to resist his grip at the same time.

"You're right, it did cost a lot but that doesn't matter. That's yours now. Now get in," Atobe said, shoving the poor second year inside the limousine and seating beside her.

"But I can't accept this! I'm fine with my phone, you know," Aoi said still pushing the gadget into Atobe's hands. The captain snorted.

"You call _that _thing a phone?" Atobe raised an eyebrow as he picked up Aoi's phone. It was pink but the color had faded out in many places especially on the keypads. The screen was blurry mainly because of the countless scratches on its surface that Hyoutei's King wondered how she could read messages on it. He turned the phone over and saw that the one-mega pixel camera of the phone was also badly scratched and he also doubted whether the flash would actually give off a strong light. Feeling the backside of the phone, he felt a bulge in the place where the battery was supposed to be, indicating that the battery was already very old and badly needs a replacement. Atobe huffed as he shut the repulsive phone close.

"Why do you keep such a junk with you anyway?" the young man said, holding the phone by its charms and handing it back to Aoi.

"It's not junk as long as it's usable," the girl protested.

"You can still bear to use that piece of crap?" the tennis captain raised an eyebrow, his smirk back in place.

"It's not like I'm making myself look like some rich kid or something," Aoi glared.

"It's not about being rich. That phone is too old that a museum would probably buy it if you put it up on auction," there he goes with his snide comments once again.

"I don't care," Aoi huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I do. No take the phone. It's my engagement gift to you. And besides, you'll need it," Atobe said, pushing the black phone into Aoi's hands once again, its charm was a small tennis racket with a red wristlet, jangling with the force. Aoi gave in and placed phone in her bag.

"I'll take it but I assure you, I wouldn't be needing it, seeing that I still have my own phone working perfectly," she could hear Atobe snort with what she said but was unable to hear what he's got to say as one of the boy's phones rang.

"Hello, it's me," Atobe picked up one of his sleek black cell phones and began talking with the person on the other line. However, the phone he picked up was different. It had a charm with a small tennis racket and a red wristlet; similar to the one that hung on the phone he had just given Aoi. _If he wants it to be a matching pair, he could have just said so, he's so childish._ Inner Aoi mused once again.

* * *

That night, after Aoi had recharged her phone's battery, she found out that her line wasn't working anymore. She couldn't make calls, and receive messages on that phone and number anymore. She just had a very vivid idea of the person behind the cancellation of her subscription. Picking up, the phone that Atobe gave her earlier, she saw a new mail and it said, _I told you you'd need this. – Keigo_. Aoi just realized that earlier that morning, she was wishing to get rid of her phone because the man who had just sent her mail had found out about her number. Well, she got her wish, all right, but the problem of him knowing her number was still left unsolved.

I told you you'd need this. – Keigo

What an egoistical bastard.


	3. Secret's Out

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my thoughts.

* * *

----Chapter 3----

----Secret's Out----

* * *

"I told you I can go to Belroe by myself!" Aoi raged as she was forced by Atobe to ride his limousine. It was one fine school day and Aoi just had to let her tongue slip into telling Atobe that she does not need his transportation services that afternoon for she agreed to have coffee with some of her friends from the nearby school. However, Atobe thought that yes, she _do _need his services to go to the café considering that it was about five streets away from Hyoutei. That's really too far in the tennis player's opinion and that's why he personally saw to it that his fiancé would be chauffeured to the said café.

"I haven't heard of Belroe or any café near the school. Does it serve café au lait?" Atobe said as he seated himself beside his pouting fiancé as the limousine started rolling through the streets.

"I don't know about that but they have awesome frappes!" Aoi said enthusiastically.

"Who are these friends that you will be meeting anyway?" Atobe asked.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked but it's totally none of your business," Aoi said dismissively. Atobe twitched at this.

"But I want to know who my fiancée is meeting," the man pressed on.

"Sanada Genichiro and Tezuka Kunimitsu, you happy now?" Aoi answered. Of course, that wasn't true but being pestered by Atobe nonstop over the past month had given Aoi enough information to know which buttons to press so that the King would leave her alone.

"What? You're meeting with those two? You're insane," the man frowned.

"I'm not. They're really great guys, you see," Aoi smirked. She likes it when Atobe bites her bait.

"What's so great about them? Sanada always wears that revolting cap and Tezuka – I don't know where to begin with him – he's looks older than his actual age and he trusts that Echizen brat too much!" he said trying to make Aoi see reason. Of course, the latter had already found reason. She just wants to play with him.

"Says the man who loves purple," Aoi snorted.

"And what's wrong with purple? It's the color of royalty!" Atobe said proudly. He wouldn't have Aoi poking into his favorite color just like that. The limousine had finally stopped in front of the café and Aoi was once again surprised when Atobe asked his driver to leave.

"And why exactly are you asking him to go away?" she asked, not wanting to hear his answer but asking anyway.

"What? Is it so wrong for me to sample this café's menu?" Atobe asked, crossing his arms and staring down at Aoi.

"Buchou?" a voice asked and the two wheeled around to see a boy wearing a blue cap and standing behind his is a boy who is slightly shorter with messy brownish hair.

"Shishido-san! Ootori-san!" Aoi said in greeting to the two.

"Yo, Aoi-chan!" the two waved happily at Aoi then Shishido turned to his captain.

"And what are _you _doing here?" He questioned his captain brusquely.

"It is such a sin now to visit a café to drink coffee?" Atobe asked, still in his elegant composure.

"Oh, yeah? But I thought the great _Atobe-sama _would think of such a lowly café as trash. You've probably had better coffee than this store's cappuccino," Shishido answered back, all sense of respect for Atobe forgotten.

"Oh, my friends are already inside, you guys enjoy yourselves," Aoi said, dismissing herself from the scene, before it could get any worse.

* * *

"Aoi-chan!" a girl waved from a table beside the windows and Aoi brightened up at the sight of her friend.

"Sorry I'm late, somebody got in the way," Aoi said, muttering the last five words so nobody but her can hear.

"Oh, it's alright, we just got here ourselves. Shall we order now," A boy from nearby Rikkai Dai with red hair said as a waitress dressed in a French maid outfit approached their table. The group of girls from Hyoutei and the group of guys from Rikkai placed their orders and proceeded to talk animatedly as soon as the waitress left.

* * *

Atobe and Shishido had finally dropped their little argument and the former had decided that it would not hurt to let his captain join them for some coffee. How bad can it get, anyway? Ootori trudged behind the two with a relieved look in his face.

"Let's sit here," Atobe said in his usual bossy voice he uses when he wants to get his way. His teammates followed suit, knowing that Atobe would just be a child if they did not obey what he said and would probably cause another argument.

"Anou, Atobe-buchou," Ootori said experimentally, wanting to see if his captain would invite questions at the moment.

"Ah~n, what is it?" Atobe said, ordering from the waitress that approached their table, eyeing her dress with keen eyes.

"You did not come here just because of Aoi-chan, do you?" Ootori said, suddenly becoming more interested in the sugar bowl beside his right arm.

"I did not," Atobe said a sounding more defensive of himself than he had intended to.

"Hey buchou," Shishido suddenly said after their orders had arrived, eyeing the table where Aoi was seated with her friends.

"What is it now?" Atobe said, wanting the conversation to be as far as possible from hurting his pride that's as big as Asia.

"Aoi-chan didn't tell you anything about going to a gokon today, did she?" Shishido asked, sipping on his coffee and eyeing his captain with lazy eyes.

"What in the hell is a gokon?" Atobe asked confused. The boy with blue cap chuckled at this reaction.

"Of course, the great Atobe won't know anything about a gokon. Maybe he will think he's too high above the rest to be participating in such an activity," Shishido said with a slight mocking tone. Of course, pissing Atobe too much would mean more work the next time the team had it's practice and he doesn't want that. He's just pressing a few buttons, careful not to cross the boarder; just enough to have is captain in a panic attack without giving the entire fault to him.

"What activity is it then that you would automatically assume that ore-sama will think that he is so high above the rest to be participating in such a thing?" Atobe asked irritated that he wasn't getting any answers from his teammates.

"Well, it's when a group of girls and a group of boys from different schools meet up together to meet new friends," Ootori explained, hoping his answer would appease his captain.

"To put it bluntly, it's a group date between two schools. In this case, its Rikkai and Hyoutei," Shishido answered lazily.

"Hyoutei? Hey, what's it got to do with Aoi, then?" Atobe asked.

"Well, your pretty friend seems to be participating in one now," Shishido replied, pointing to the table a few feet behind Atobe. The King spun around and saw his fiancée chatting animatedly with some guys he did not know. Though, he had to admit that the guy with red hair is strangely familiar.

"Are those guys from Rikkai?" Atobe asked incredulously, the uniforms of the guys strongly reminding him of his rival, Sanada Genichiro.

"You weren't exactly listening to what I was saying a while ago, were you?" Shishido asked, slightly pissed out at being ignored.

"What's Aoi doing with those punks?" Atobe asked incredulously, watching Aoi chat away happily with the 'punks' from Rikkai.

"As I have said, they're having a gokon," Shishido answered, veins popping on his forehead.

"Gokon…what the hell!" Atobe said, standing up and marching towards the table where the happy group that Aoi's with was sitting, his teammates – namely, Shishido and Ootori – behind him, ready to stop him in case he does anything rash. Upon reaching the table, Atobe roughly grabbed Aoi by the arm.

"We're going home," the King stated brusquely, all elegance left behind, but still earning swoons from the girls in Aoi's group.

"What? But I'm talking with this lot!" Aoi said indignantly, trying to wrench her arm from Atobe's grasp.

"You'd do better than to chat with guys with artificially colored hair," the tennis captain replied, eyeing the redhead's hair with distaste.

"Hey! This is my natural hair color!" the redhead retorted in his defense. The other guys glared at him as if to tell him to say anymore. Apparently, the neighboring schools also know Atobe. While the other girls swooned at the sight of Atobe, Aoi glared at him, a warning sign for others, but again, it would not get through Hyoutei's top student easily.

"Don't be rude to my friends," Aoi said, a dangerous edge in her voice that Atobe failed or refused to hear.

"Let's go," the older guy said and tugged Aoi's arm once again.

"Hey! I said I won't go with you!" the girl said, wrenching her arm from Atobe.

"Hey, if the young lady says she doesn't want to go, then leave her be," one of the boys from Aoi's table interjected.

"Yeah, just what are you to her anyway? You're not her brother to drag her out of the café just like that and even if you were her brother, you would have had the decency to ask nicely," another one said in Aoi's defense.

"Excuse me? I'm her fiancé. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking her home now," Atobe said and tugged at the girl's arm. This time, Aoi succeeded in freeing herself from the man's grasp as she hit him with her school bag, in the stomach.

"That should hurt a bit. I've got some heavy reference book in here," she said, throwing a death glare at the tennis captain, making Shishido and Ootori cringe in fear. She then fished her wallet from inside her bag and laid some money on the table.

"That's for my order. If it's not enough, I'll leave it to you, Kana-chan. I'll pay you at school tommorow," she said and with that, she left the café, not bothering to even look at Atobe who stood frozen, for the first time sensing the dangerous aura that Aoi was emitting at the moment.

It took a few moments before the Atobe unfroze and his sense of things began working again. He quickly ran after Aoi who was now standing in front of the café ready to hail a taxi.

"Matte, Aoi," upon seeing Atobe, she quickly left her place and began crossing to the other side of the street.

"I said wait," the tennis captain said, following the girl to the other side of the street.

"I'm sorry ok, so don't be angry with me," he said, grabbing the girl's arm but Aoi hissed, brushing his hand off and walking further away.

"I'll buy you anything, ok. Just don't be angry with me," Atobe said, trying to stop Aoi from walking away as the girl stomped to the other side of the street to distance herself further away.

"I'll – " his voice trailed off, at lost for what to say. That's when the truth sank in. He still doesn't know that much about Aoi, and here he was, telling the whole world he is her fiancé.

"I'll buy you ice cream!" He blurted the first thing that came into his mind as Aoi rounded at a corner. The girl spun around and glared at him. Atobe had a mental image of himself cowering with fear in a corner as Aoi gave him a calculating look.

"Strawberry and choco-banana," Aoi said in a dangerous voice and Atobe can now sense the danger in her every syllable.

"Wh – what?" the tennis captain asked, wanting to know if he had heard wrong.

"I thought you'd buy me ice cream? I just said what flavor I would like to have," the girl said, placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. Atobe just smirked and dragged his fiancée to the nearest store to buy her the ice cream that she wanted.

* * *

"Hey, aren't you going to talk?" Aoi prodded Atobe's leg with her foot. They were sitting in a park watching kids playing among themselves in the playground, as they ate their ice creams.

"What am I going to say anyway," Atobe said, scooping some of the sweet treat from the ice cream cup and raising an eyebrow at Aoi.

"Aren't you going to explain why you just suddenly threw a fit back at Belroe? I'm not surprised if the next time I go there, I'd be banned from entering," the girl questioned, staring at her pink and brown swirled treat and back at Atobe.

"You went to a gokon," was the tennis captain's reply before he averted his gaze from her and stared at a kid who tripped because of running too fast.

"I just went there because Saya-chan can't go because of something that came up at home. Since I'm free for the afternoon, I agreed to go in her place. And it's not that I don't already know those guys from Rikkai," Aoi sighed as if explaining something so simple to a stubborn three-year-old.

"You can't go to another one, understand?" Atobe murmured which was not heard clearly by the girl beside him.

"Come again?" Atobe sighed when he was asked to repeat himself.

"I said you couldn't go to another fricking gokon, again, ok?" Atobe raised his voice a little so that, this time, Aoi would hear him clearly.

"I never went into one before, anyway, and seeing how I'll be banned from the coffee shop anytime soon, I think this would be the last one, anyway. And – are you jealous?" Aoi smirked, as comprehension dawned on her as to why her pretty fiancée had to act like a monkey in front of her friends.

"No I'm not," Atobe replied but not meeting the girl's eyes.

"Oh, yes you are," Aoi elbowed him playfully.

"You are my fiancée, ok? Act properly," Atobe said as if that was the answer to the question.

"Then you're jealous," Aoi nodded knowingly, still with that smirk plastered on her face. They sat there a few moments, finishing their ice cream. After that, Atobe called his driver to pick them up, and soon, they were inside the young man's personal service.

"So we ended up riding this, after all," Atobe smirked, but he did not get any reply from the girl sitting beside him who was currently wearing a look of utter shock in her face.

"What now?" Atobe asked after shaking her and getting no reaction at all.

"Keigo, our secret is out," Aoi blurted out finally in a frightened whisper.

"What secret?" the beautiful man asked, not getting what she meant at all.

"That we're engaged," the girl said, looking more frightened than ever.

"So?" he raised an eyebrow at this. What could be so frightening about that?

"It won't be a problem to you but it would be for me," the girl replied looking worried. When she didn't get an answer, she continued. "Your fangirls would hell bent on killing me when they find out that their 'Keigo-sama' is already engaged. I wouldn't be surprised if the news would be out by tomorrow. Oh, God, what should I do?"

"Don't worry, ok. I'm sure they would understand. You can still live normally, I assure you. In fact you should be proud that you're the one engaged to ore-sama," Atobe said as the car stopped in front of the Sendoh mansion. Aoi said a quick goodbye and thanks before entering the gates.

* * *

Later that night, Atobe received a call from an irate Aoi who was clearly fuming from the other end of the line.

"What did you say about living my life normally?" Aoi asked and Atobe could almost feel the daggers she was sending his way through her voice.

"What are you on about?" he asked, knowing what could probably be the cause of his fiancé's anger.

"Fifty hate mails just arrived this evening, Keigo. Do you still think that I could live my life normally after this?" Atobe would have preferred if Aoi had shouted. The low octave of her voice only made it more dangerous.

"Then burn them," Atobe suggested meekly. He would put anything past an angry, PMSing Aoi.

"The hell! If I ever get attacked by your fans at school tomorrow, Keigo, you would wish you have never been born!" Aoi shouted so loudly that Atobe had to hold his cellphone a good few inches away from his ear. A click and the busy tone sounded as Aoi cut the line. This would not be good.

* * *

A/N: it's time for star-spotting with Aya!! (smiles) can you spot Marui Bunta in this chapter? I intentionally did not mention any names of the people from the gokon since it would not be very important for the story, anyway. Hope you enjoyed this one! (smiles again)


	4. Blood Bath

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If there's anything, Mana owns me.

WARNING: F4 style of bullying to follow.  


* * *

---- Chapter 4 ----

---- Blood Bath----  


* * *

Aoi knew already that her day wouldn't be the best day in her life. Everything just went wrong from the way she woke up five minutes late than her usual time because she didn't hear her alarm go off to the way their maid served her croissant rather than her preferred scones. The road she usually takes with Atobe to school was jammed with a freaking 18-wheeler truck from hell that just had to overheat in the middle of the street and, fearing that they would be late, the tennis captain and Aoi decided to make a run for it.

Somehow, entering the school together with Atobe made the girl have a tingling sensation run down her spine. It is the feeling someone has when they are being watched and Aoi is not very fond of that feeling at all. Something about the smiles she received from the girls as she walked down the hallway told her that something was off.

Her desk and chair was missing.

That was the first thing that registered in Aoi's mind as she entered her classroom. Well, it wasn't really that hard to miss since she sits smack in the middle of the classroom.

"Ara? Where's your desk Sendoh-san?" a female classmate of her said with a faint sneer on her features. Aoi grumbled as she stomped out of her classroom in search of her missing desk and chair. A burst of laughter resounded throughout the classroom as soon as Aoi rounded the corner and that told the girl that the battle has started.

As the girl stomped her way through deserted corridors, muttering angrily about seeing that trick somewhere before, she suddenly slipped and fell flat on her butt. Looking around, she found out that she slipped on a banana peel that was mocking her from the floor. If the banana had a face, it would be sticking it's tongue at her that very moment. Rubbing her butt with a groan, Aoi heard a few clicks as she was trying to sit up. She knew immediately that the sound came from a camera and she ungracefully stood up, shouting for the cowards who took her picture in a most embarrassing position to show up. The idiot taking pictures made a run for it and Aoi chased him along the school corridors.

Before she rounded a corner, she heard sounds of smacking and groans of pain. Peering around the corner, she saw Oshitari Yuushi, and the idiot who took her pictures; only the latter was slumped against the wall, his lip bleeding, with a very obvious bruise on his cheek.

"I'll be taking this," Oshitari said reaching for the guy's pocket and taking a camera. The guy made feeble attempts to retrieve it but was unsuccessful.

"Oshitari-san?" Aoi said, stepping out of her hiding place. The man turned around and looked at her, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Taking pictures is against the rules. Says the student council. Well, kiyo tsukete, Aoi-chan," Oshitari said, and made his leave, playing a little with the camera he just confiscated.

The tensai's statement made Aoi a little flustered. When had it been against the rules to take pictures? And when had the guy been a part of the student council? Aoi shook these thoughts away as she approached the culprit and asked him the thing she could only think of at that moment.

"Why?"

"I was only asked to do it! Believe me!"

"Who told you to do this?"

"I – I don't know. I just received a phone call and told me to do that to you or else I'd get expelled from school. I was scared, you know."

"Then – do you know where my desk is?" Aoi asked. The guy pointed a shaky hand upwards.

"The rooftop?" A nod.

Aoi ran as fast as she can to the school's rooftop. Who in the hell would bring her desk to the rooftop? Did the desk hurt them in any way? Taking the stairs two steps at a time, she finally reached the rooftop and found her desk covered in what she initially mistook for as blood. Approaching her desk, she found out that the blood was actually red paint.

"Are? What are you doing here, Aoi-chan?" A male voice said and Aoi spun around to see Shishido and Ootori climbing the stairs up the rooftop.

"Shishido-san, Ootori-san? What are _you_ doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Aoi asked, puzzled.

"Uhm, well, we're…errr…planning something," Shishido replied, shifting uncomfortably. "Well, what about you?"

"I was looking for my desk," Aoi said, pointing at the desk splattered with paint.

"That looks bad," Ootori exclaimed.

"No wonder Itoh was running as fast as he could carrying a bucket of red paint," Shishido said, pointing towards the staircase and scratching his head at the same time.

"Itoh-san?" Aoi asked surprised.

"Well, yeah, I saw him running like crazy down the stairs. Now I know what he did," Shishido said, pointing at the desk before them. Aoi looked close to tears now as she looked at her desk. How was she supposed to explain that she did no one wrong for this to happen to her.

"Why don't you tell the principal about it, Aoi-chan?" Ootori suggested in an attempt to help the poor girl out.

"And risk being expelled?" Aoi said shaking as she tried to control the tears.

"Why are going to be expelled? You're simply going to tell the principal that some people are screwing with you. What's the problem with that?" Shishido said feeling slightly uncomfortable with the sight of a crying girl in front of him.

"I don't even know who they are. How can I tell the principal if I can't even pinpoint the culprits? I'll just look like a big fat liar and what if those who are doing this are close to the school administration? I'd risk being expelled by telling them something like that," tears were streaming freely down Aoi's cheeks right now. Shishido cleared his throat and extended his hand holding a handkerchief to Aoi. The girl looked at him with a quizzical look in her eyes.

"Wipe those tears. They don't suit you and God knows what will happen to the two of us when buchou sees you crying in front of us. He might think we made you cry and the rest of us will be history," the boy explained avoiding Aoi's eyes.

* * *

The day went by as slow as possible for Aoi. She would have claimed that the clocks just decided to stop working altogether if not for the sun changing positions in the sky.

Meanwhile, the bullying continued until Aoi just wanted to shout in the middle of the school yard for everything to stop. Things done to her included her science project being soaked in orange juice, her P.E. shirt being lost in the locker rooms and many others leaving her disheveled by the afternoon. It was now dismissal time and Aoi was running for her life as several rabid Atobe fangirls run after her threatening to shave her head. She was currently hiding behind a bush when strong arms grabbed her and she felt her back collide with a hard chest.

Aoi trembled in fright. Did they manage to find her? Slowly, she turned her head to look at the face of her captor who was enclosing her in their arms. Somehow, she felt more protected than threatened. Then she saw him. Atobe Keigo was her captor. She haven't seen him all day and it was a big question to her as to how he managed to find her. She gasped and Atobe placed a finger on her lips.

"Shhh… they're gonna find us if you're not careful," he said eyeing her tattered skirt which has been torn in places because of what happened to her that day, her soiled uniform and messy hair. She still looked kind of cute even in this state but that's beside the point. The Atobe fan club members went overboard this time. Aoi, tired and worn out by the days events felt like crying ever since that incident on the rooftop. And now that her unlikely hero was holding her in his arms, she finally let all of it go and cried against Atobe's chest because his shoulder is too high for her to reach.

And cry she did. She cried like a baby and Atobe patted her head in comfort listening for the sound of anyone who is coming. Shuffling steps and faint "I think I heard something there" warned Atobe that his princess' pursuers are getting near. He prepared to face them as they went into view.

"Ara? Atobe-sama!" one of the exclaimed in surprise.

"It's OK,"Atobe whispered and held Aoi tighter.

"I heard you've been pursuing her all day, am I wrong?" Atobe asked daring them to prove him wrong.

"Well, yes," one girl answered shiftily.

"And why?" an arched eyebrow courtesy of Hyoutei's king. This is going to be bad.

"W-well..we heard that she's spreading rumors that the two of you are betrothed to each other. That couldn't be right, can it, Atobe-sama?" a girl who looks like she leads the group of pursuers answered.

"And what if I tell you that it is indeed true?" double raised eyebrows. Hell will soon break lose.

"Eh?" they asked dumbly.

"It's true bitches. Get over it," Atobe stated in a clear, loud voice. The girls just stared at him dumbfounded.

"Y-you're kidding, ne, Atobe-sama?" one girl said laughing.

"Do I look like I could joke about something like that, aaahhhn?" the King answered glaring at the one who dared ask.

"I-iie," the girls answered meekly.

"Don't ever touch her again or you'd be meeting Satan earlier," Atobe said and with that, the girls ran away for their lives.

"Aoi-chan," Atobe's voice turned into a gentle tone as he turned back to his wrecked princess. "Mou daijobu dayo," he said wiping the tears off her face.

* * *

As a consolation, Atobe took Aoi to Shibuya to buy her some clothes in replacement to her tattered ones which had been torn in places because of his fangirls. God, he hates them now. Aoi was dragging him to a gloomy looking store which looks dark outside and maybe even darker inside. As to why Aoi wanted to get into such a lonely looking store leaves Atobe clueless. He looked at the shop's sign which displays in big blue letters the store's name "Moi-meme-moitie". Atobe understood what it meant, of course. "Half of myself" the owner did have creativity in choosing the shop's name.

As they stepped into the store, Atobe saw stuff that only existed in vampire movies. Then he saw Aoi zoom away to the nearest clothes rack looking at puffy dresses that had too much ruffles. They looked like the ones that dolls wear. A tall woman entered the store and saw Atobe. They made eye contact and the woman just bowed at him. Wait – is that really a woman?! Atobe began to notice the differences between the 'woman' who entered the store and other women. The person was not that tall, really. They were just wearing humongous boots. They were flat-chested too and, yes, there's an Adam's apple there. _That's a guy?! _Atobe exclaimed to himself. He was surprised again when someone entered the store right after the 'woman' did. The person was definitely a guy. He was so tall and looked very scary. He is wearing really scary makeup and the right part of his head had been shaved clean and the remaining hair had been raised into a Mohawk with God-knows-how-much hairspray. The man just stared back at Atobe for a while before following the effeminate man to an office at the very back of the store. Atobe then turned his head and saw Aoi beaming at him.

"We're lucky. Mana-sama visited the store and he even brought K with him," Aoi said happily. Why is she so happy at the sight of those two men?

After paying for Aoi's clothes which she had called "Elegant Gothic Lolita", they went back to the car and Atobe demanded to know why Aoi was so happy at the sight of the two weird men at the shop.

"You don't know who Mana-sama is?" Aoi asked incredulously.

"No. That's why I'm asking you to inform me about that person," Atobe replied.

"Well, he's really famous, you know. He's like the face of Gothic Lolita and has appeared at the Gothic and Lolita Bible several times. He's the one who looks like a girl, by the way. He's also the owner of the shop," Aoi explained.

"Then he's gay," Atobe snorted.

"No he's not! He's absolutely 100% straight!" Aoi answered heatedly.

"Fine. But guys who dress like girls – "Atobe didn't get to complete his sentence because he was cut off by Aoi's retort.

"It's his profession, you idiot but I assure you he's 100% straight!"

"I think you just told me that."

"But you don't understand!"

"Yes, I can't understand that in the meantime. Now tell me about the other guy. People would usually run away at the sight of him but you seem to be very happy seeing him," Atobe said in a calm manner even though the other person is hyperventilating and staring daggers at him because he mocked her fandom.

"Oh, that's K, the other guitarist of Mana-sama's band. He's really a funny one, though," Aoi said giggling at some memory she has of the scary-looking man from before.

"Doesn't look like it," Atobe snorted.

"Well, it's his job to look like death. That's the band's theme, you know," Aoi retorted.

"I don't get their genre at all."

"Well, that's because you only listen to that crappy classical music of yours," Aoi said crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's classy," Atobe replied simply.

"But boring."

"It's elegant."

"It makes me wanna fall asleep."

And they argued all the way back to the Atobe family mansion, everything that happened that day forgotten with their heated discussion about Keigo's choice of music. Inside, Keigo was happy that Aoi is forgetting about the stuff that was done to her. He wouldn't want her to be affected by the stupid acts of his fanclub. Meanwhile, the people who made it difficult for Aoi are being rounded by his 'men' (read: students whom he orders around) and given the right punishment that is still acceptable with the school's laws. No one shall hurt Aoi as long as Atobe is around.  


* * *

A/N: I told you Mana owns me. Sorry if I made Aoi-chan swing a little to the 'dark' side but I promised someone to include Mana-sama and my beta seems to like the idea too, so I went on with it. Sorry for the late updates, though, honto ni. I think it will be a long time again before I can update. Anyway, enjoy!


End file.
